NYPD Internal Affairs is investigating allegations of police brutality related to the arrest of a teenager in a Bronx bodega last Friday night. Surveillance video (below) from the bodega shows the teen, Jorge Cartagena Jr., saying something to an unidentified officer as the cop exits the deli. The cop then whirls around, grabs the teen, and flings him against a shelf of snack food. Moments earlier, outside the bodega, the officer had given Cartagena Jr., 19, a warning about riding his bike on the sidewalk. [ MORE]  | Come spring (don't laugh, we can dream) cigarette smokers will be formally cast out of NYC parks, boardwalks, beaches, recreation centers, swimming pools and pedestrian plazas. Today Mayor Bloomberg will sign legislation forbidding smoking in public places, punishable by up to a $100 fine. Since the new law is considered unenforceable by many, it's hoped that future legislation will stiffen the penalties for smoking, perhaps mandating public stonings, or at least humiliating "I AM AN INCONSIDERATE SMOKER" sandwich boards.... [ MORE ] |  | The billionaire David Koch and his brother Charles, who were the subject of an unflattering profile in The New Yorker over the summer, are very involved in politics, having funneled a total of $2 million to mostly Republican candidates in the last election cycle. Their money is also reportedly behind a lot of the Tea Party movement, and they finance the right-wing organization Americans for Prosperity. Yesterday the president of that non-profit (ha) group turned up in Madison, Wisconsin to lecture union protesters who have occupied the Capitol building for more than a week now. ... [ MORE ] |  | Four Americans were killed by Somali priates who had hijacked their yacht in the Indian Ocean near the coast of Somalia. The SV Quest, which was taken over on Friday, had been shadowed by a U.S. Navy warship. According to CBS News, "Gunshots aboard the yacht were heard, and the warship took action. All 4 Americans were dead, killed apparently by their captors. There were more than a dozen pirates on board, some dead and others captured." ... [ MORE ] |  | [Update below] Who's responsible if the newborn baby you adopted turns out to have severe medical problems? If you are one Long Island couple, it is the fault of those rascally lawyers, of course. Meet Lynell and Victor Jeffrey, two parents currently engaged in a lawsuit against adoption attorneys Aaron Britvan and Alyssa Seiden. Ellington, the baby boy the Jeffreys adopted from an Indiana woman in August 2006, turns out to have severe neurological deficits which they weren't told about before they got him. ... [ MORE ] |  | Here's a neat infographic comparing New York City and Chicago—since we already know which city is better (sorry Chicagoist), this one simply compares the unique qualities of each. A few sections are above, and you can view the full illustration right here. Basically, we have more tourists, more mafia families, we're the most expensive city to live in, and our pizza is subpar. Hmm, we're beginning to think someone in Chicago was behind this thing...... [ MORE ] |  | If you are anything like us—and we suspect you are—a good portion of your youth was spent with a game controller in hand staring blankly at your television screen. And whatever you mother may have said at the time, all of those hours were not for nought! Those games that ate up your childhood (and then some) are part of an artform that is finally getting the recognition it deserves! And you can help.... [ MORE ] |  | Meet Patrick Quinn, a Brooklyn man sent straight from Central Casting to the pages of the Daily News, where he appears to fulfill nearly every cliched notion of what makes a hipster. Quinn is a blacksmith who makes hand-crafted belt buckles that can hold your MetroCard—they cost $125 each and they're sold on Etsy. It's as if the News sent out a Hipster Stereotype Survey to Brooklyn residents and Quinn came back with all the right answers. But reached by phone today, Quinn shockingly revealed that his hipster credentials are less than sterling!... [ MORE ] | | |
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